Getting a mortgage in the South East

chelseablue

I just put our incomes into the Halifax calculator, said we had 1 child but no childcare to pay and it said the max we could borrow is £281,000

henrygregory

rjw4 wrote: »

What about Bishop's Stortford?

Yes, this is one of the places on our list. We did see a few places here and in Stansted. We found one for £370000

I took a look on the HSBC Mortgage site (as I use them for banking) and it came back with the following for a 50k deposit (this is affordable for us):

This represents the loan as a percentage of the property value e.g. a £100,000 property with an £80,000 mortgage would be at an 80% LTV.

This is an estimated figure that gives you an idea of the initial monthly payments you'll make, based on the stated interest rate.
Compare

2 Year Fixed Advance Standard
Max LTV: 90%
Initial Interest Rate: 1.99%
Followed by a Variable Rate currently: 3.69%
Overall cost for comparison (APRC): 3.5%
Booking Fee: £749
Initial illustrative monthly payment: £1,181

Some of the options they provided, had a higher (more realistic initial interest rate of 3%) which made the Initial illustrative monthly payment more like £1365 per month. This would also be about do able for us both.

wjr4

Go to an independent broker rather than a bank as different lenders offer different amounts.. Nationwide seemed to be most flexible for us. Halifax had a slightly lower interest rate but Nationwide would lend more so we went with them as we needed the highest mortgage we could get (although this seems like we have stretched ourselves, it is affordable and will continue to be affordable in the future as we still have a lot of disposable income).. Bishop's Stortford is nice and easy to get to London and Cambridge. We were looking there at first but was too far from my partner's work. Braintree would be an affordable place if you were not working in London as it seems quite difficult to get to London from there.

henrygregory

rjw4 wrote: »

Go to an independent broker rather than a bank as different lenders offer different amounts.. Nationwide seemed to be most flexible for us. Halifax had a slightly lower interest rate but Nationwide would lend more so we went with them as we needed the highest mortgage we could get (although this seems like we have stretched ourselves, it is affordable and will continue to be affordable in the future as we still have a lot of disposable income).. Bishop's Stortford is nice and easy to get to London and Cambridge. We were looking there at first but was too far from my partner's work. Braintree would be an affordable place if you were not working in London as it seems quite difficult to get to London from there.

Thanks, really helpful. You certainly know the area well. You are 100% correct, Braintree/Dunmow would be an affordable option for us, but it would be too much agro for me to get to work from which is a pest. We have looked at little at Dunmow, but it is just slightly too far out.

The only other option we do have is to wait until we can buy our rental property. It is owned by a housing association, and it is anticipated that some time next year, Right to Acquire should be available, giving us the option to acquire our housing association house...though what the asking price may be, who knows?! :rotfl:

Pixie5740

I thought you lived with your mum in her council house and had done so for 26 years?

wjr4

henrygregory wrote: »

Thanks, really helpful. You certainly know the area well. You are 100% correct, Braintree/Dunmow would be an affordable option for us, but it would be too much agro for me to get to work from which is a pest. We have looked at little at Dunmow, but it is just slightly too far out.

The only other option we do have is to wait until we can buy our rental property. It is owned by a housing association, and it is anticipated that some time next year, Right to Acquire should be available, giving us the option to acquire our housing association house...though what the asking price may be, who knows?! :rotfl:

That's okay! I done a LOT of research before buying a house as Chelmsford was not affordable at first however we managed to find a place affordable place in the end! I'd definitely stay closer to the M11 if I were you as it seems easier to get to work for you. What about Saffron Walden?

Oh maybe that will be an option then! I have no experience with that field - beyond my knowledge haha!

Kynthia

Make sure you look closely at what repayments you can afford, especially if interest rates rise a little and you or your wife work less hours after having a child. Then don't borrow more than this even if it's tempting. Go through all the figures with an independent broker too. It's no fun being broke for years and stressing about money, as I doubt you're going to get good pay rises in the public sector anytime soon unless you get promotions.

henrygregory

Pixie5740 wrote: »

I thought you lived with your mum in her council house and had done so for 26 years?

Correct, moved out a few months back as sadly the state of the house was becoming a real issue and a housing association property became available not far away from where I was living at an ok'ish rental price. My mother is still in her house, I have no plans at this stage to return, but good to know the options for future, though I believe, if I were to help her purchase her place, I would need to move back for at least a year.

henrygregory

rjw4 wrote: »

That's okay! I done a LOT of research before buying a house as Chelmsford was not affordable at first however we managed to find a place affordable place in the end! I'd definitely stay closer to the M11 if I were you as it seems easier to get to work for you. What about Saffron Walden?

Oh maybe that will be an option then! I have no experience with that field - beyond my knowledge haha!

It certainly sounds as though you have! Chelmsford would definately be too far for us! I hope you are enjoying it there! I bought a little Fiesta from there a few years ago.
I took a look on Santander as you suggested, and it came back with some good options. The more expensive options were the safer ones such as 10 year locked prices. I think they came to around £1500 a month, so really pushing it, but the extra security might be worth the expense.

Saffron Walden is a very good option... not sure if you read The Times? It was again featured in the national news as being a great place to live if you commute to London. But I feel it is marketed at folk earning a lot more than we do! It is nice, but expensive. They do have one available affordable flat there at the moment, but it is only one bedroom with one parking space so far too small for us!

henrygregory

Kynthia wrote: »

Make sure you look closely at what repayments you can afford, especially if interest rates rise a little and you or your wife work less hours after having a child. Then don't borrow more than this even if it's tempting. Go through all the figures with an independent broker too. It's no fun being broke for years and stressing about money, as I doubt you're going to get good pay rises in the public sector anytime soon unless you get promotions.

Thanks..sound advice.
We don't anticipate loosing any income as my partner will go back to work after maternity and my mother, who lives close by can look after our child. - Makes it far cheaper than paying those really expensive childcare costs. That's one of the reasons we don't want to move out of the area, as staying there could save us in child care.

I won't be getting a pay rise period in this job. I have asked and they have given (they have looked after me), and they really can't afford to go any higher now. I am at the end of my spine point and realistically, would be looking at a new job or slightly different career moving forward.